Law Enforcement Officials Believe Missing College Student Saniyya Dennis Took Her Own Life

Law Enforcement officials now believe missing Buffalo State student Saniyya Dennis took her own life, based on evidence that chronicles her last 24 hours.

According to WGRZ, authorities have released more details surrounding the disappearance of the 19-year-old college student who was last seen leaving her residence hall on Saturday, April 24th.

The Buffalo State Police, New York State Police, and the Erie County District Attorney John Flynn provided a timeline of what happened just before Dennis’ disappearance. 

Flynn said evidence shows that Dennis argued with her boyfriend, who lives in New York City, earlier in the day. As a result of that argument, the two broke up.

Authorities said that according to Dennis’s phone records, the young woman made multiple phone calls to her boyfriend, who did not answer her calls. Flynn said text messages reveal that Dennis texted her boyfriend and made comments about ending her life. 

According to the timeline, phone records also showed that Dennis made similar comments to another male friend, and they then spent a few hours talking on the phone and playing video games.

Surveillance footage captured the young woman at around 11:00 pm leaving her dorm. Flynn said she threw out personal items in a garbage can that led officials to believe that she was not planning on returning to the dorm. 

The timeline reveals that Dennis took a bus to Niagara Falls State Park near Goat Island. Phone records revealed that she called a friend and spoke for 45 minutes and then sent a picture of Niagara Falls to some friends on Snapchat around 1:00 am.

Police said the last outgoing text from Dennis’s phone was sent at 1:22 am.  After that, there was no further cellular activity.

District Attorney Flynn told WGRZ that he had contacted the family on Wednesday and shared the details of the timeline with them.